N. Koreans fete founder’s 99th birthday
By Kim Young-jin
North Korea held massive rallies and cultural events Friday as it observed the 99th anniversary of the birth of its late founder Kim Il-sung.
Pyongyang was adorned with posters and an “endless stream” of people laid flowers at a giant statue of Kim to observe the holiday dubbed “The Day of the Sun,” its state-run media reported.
A huge exhibition of the Kimilsungia flower, cultural performances featuring artists flown in from former Eastern European states and sporting events were also held.
The holiday, along with the birthday of Kim Jong-il, contributes to the massive personality cult built up around the ruling Kim family.
It was not clear whether a fireworks show had been staged on the eve of the birthday, like in past years, at a time when Pyongyang has made repeated appeals for aid from the international community.
In the South, activists including North Korean defectors launched 200,000 anti-regime pamphlets across the border calling for citizens to overthrow the Kim family’s iron-fisted rule.
“One day, North Koreans will rise up against Kim Jong-il and thwart his plan for a power succession to his son,” AFP quoted Park Sang-hak, head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, as saying. His group launched 10 giant helium balloons carrying the leaflets from the border city of Paju.
The leaflets included information about the recent uprisings in the Middle East as well as dollar bills totaling $1,000.
The launch came despite scuffles that broke out between the activists and liberal groups and Paju citizens that oppose the activities. Some leftist groups say the launches worsen inter-Korean tensions, while residents fear reprisal after the North threatened to fire across the border if they continued.
This year’s bash came as the North gears up for 2012, the year it has proclaimed it will emerge as a powerful country. Many expect Pyongyang to complete its power transition in line with the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s birth.
In a sign that Pyongyang is trumpeting Kim Jong-un as the next leader, state television has been airing orchestral performances of a state-penned song known to fete the twenty-something heir, along with other shows propagandizing him.
Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said the festivities appeared to be of a normal scale.
Observers said this year’s holiday likely pales in comparison to the potential for next year’s, expected to be a massive affair to mark the centennial of the founder’s birth.
The preparations for that coincide with Pyongyang’s continued appeals for food aid. Analysts say Pyongyang could be stockpiling supplies in order to supply citizens at next year’s affair.